standoff with military
Tough-talking Gilani draws the line
Says choice is between dictatorship, democracyIslamabad, January 13
In a crucial emergency session of the National Assembly today, Pakistan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called upon Parliament to decide what should prevail in the country, democracy or dictatorship. Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari cut short his visit to Dubai and returned here early in the morning.

Khurshid undermining EC,
Quraishi complains to PMNew Delhi, January 13
With Law Minister Salman Khurshid ruffling feathers by saying his ministry has administrative control over Election Commission, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured the poll body that the government respects its constitutional status and functional autonomy.

Prosecution of 21 social sites okayed New Delhi, January 13
The Centre today told a Delhi court that there is sufficient material to proceed against 21 social networking sites, including
Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, for offences of promoting enmity between classes and causing prejudice to national integration.

Sikh wins turban case in UNWashington, January 13
The UN’s rights body has concluded that France had violated the religious freedom of a 76-year-old Sikh man when he was asked to remove his turban for his ID photograph, a US-based Sikh group has said.
United Sikh, a Sikh rights body, had filed a communication on behalf of Ranjit Singh to the United Nations Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) in December 2008.

Special to the tribune
TV show on BBC sparks Indo-UK diplomatic spatOne of Britain’s best known television presenters is at the heart of a diplomatic upset with India for a programme described by the Indian High Commission in London as “replete with cheap jibes, tasteless humour” and lacking in “cultural sensitivity.”
Millionaire Jeremy Clarkson (51), a friend of British Prime Minister David Cameron, hosts the popular BBC TV
programme, Top Gear, that attracts more than 300 million viewers every week.

Cannot secure Sarabjit’s release, Centre tells SCNew Delhi, January 13
The Centre has conveyed to the Supreme Court its inability to secure the release of Sarabjit Singh, a native of Bhikhiwind town in Tarn Taran district of Punjab who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistan court for his alleged involvement in a bomb blast in Lahore on May 18, 1990.

simply Sunny
India vs australia 3rd TestAnother debacle within four days on the cardsIndia are on their way to a third consecutive loss and in four days too after a supine batting display. It did appear that most of the batsmen were out in the pavilion itself having seen the green tinge on the pitch, and mentally imagining that the ball was going to leap at their throats.